LOS ANGELES -- The scorching-hot temperatures outside and the gritty rawness inside L.A.'s Alexandria Hotel seemed to be an appropriate setting Saturday for retro rockers Jet, who powered through the triple-digit heat to shoot the video for the first single from their sophomore album. Due October 3, the disc is titled Shine On -- words that carry a special meaning for frontman Nic Cester.

"There's a song on the album called 'Shine On' that I wrote about my father, who passed away two years ago, so it's a bit of a tribute to him," Cester explained. "And there's a theme that kind of runs through a lot of the songs. A lot of them deal with what we went through over the last two years, and it just fit."

The bandmembers believe the album will include 12 to 14 songs, but the track list will be determined after they hear all the mixed recordings they laid down with producer Dave Sardy (see [article id="1529652"]"Jet Make Progress On New LP ... And Cocktail Mixes, 'Moon Tans' "[/article]).

"We don't do anything unless it's good," Cester said. "We wanted to make sure this was five times better than the first record, and it is. The first time around I think we didn't go places, like using orchestrations and any additional instrumentation. So we had someplace to go this time -- it's a bit more lush, I suppose."

"And some of the [new songs] are actually more raw as well," bassist Mark Wilson added. "The rock songs are a lot more raw than songs on Get Born, so there's kind of a juxtaposition there."

The album's first single is "Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is," a bottom-heavy rock track that's become the Jet standard. It's slated to hit radio next month, and for the video, the band called upon director Robert Hales -- who directed the Moonman-winning clip for "Are You Gonna Be My Girl" and has since helmed Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy." Working again with their old mate gave the guys an opportunity to make up for past mistakes.

"We didn't thank him when we won the MTV Video Music Award," Wilson sheepishly confessed. "We thanked everyone else in the world, except the guy who directed it. Obviously there's no love lost -- we're back working together."

"[So] I'd just like to take this moment to thank Robert Hales for the 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' video," guitarist Cameron Muncey chimed in. "Thanks -- we couldn't have done it without you, mate."